The “B” test, conducted last week at the World Anti-Doping Agency lab in Lausanne, Switzerland, verified the “A” result from Jeptoo’s out-of-competition test. That earlier result was revealed by RunBlogRun on October 31, and a ceremony naming Jeptoo as the winner of the 2013/2014 World Marathon Majors series $500,000 women’s prize, scheduled for November 3 in New York, was called off.

The outcome of the January hearing will, pending Jeptoo’s possible appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, determine the length and breadth of her penalties and could rewrite the women’s race results at the last two Boston and Chicago Marathons.

The chief executives of both of those races released statements underscoring their need to await Athletics Kenya’s final action and their resolve to conduct “clean” marathons.

Of the “very disappointing news” about Jeptoo, Boston Athletic Association[10] Executive Director Tom Grilk noted in an email to Runner's World Newswire, “We need to await the outcome of the hearing of the hearing of the Kenyan Federation as to the sanctions and penalties in order to know how this may affect the standings for the 2014 Boston Marathon, if at all. We can say that no athlete who has tested positive for banned substances will be invited or allowed to compete in the Boston Marathon."

“We are disappointed by this news and the impact that it has not only on our race, but also on the sport of marathon running,” Chicago Marathon Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski told Newswire via email. “We must respect the process and will await the IAAF's formal proceedings and final ruling before addressing the athlete's standing with the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.”

The only marathon victory by Jeptoo that was subsequent to her September 25 test was the 2014 Chicago Marathon on October 12. If the test result is the only criterion used to punish her, that would be the only race result affected.

However, Jeptoo’s estranged husband, Noah Busienei, has gone on record with his belief that his wife, who won her first Boston Marathon in 2006, started doping in 2011[11] as her post-maternity racing comeback began. A letter from Busienei’s lawyer to Jeptoo in April 2013 alleged that Busienei knew of Jeptoo’s doping and warned that, unless she made a financial settlement with him, he would be “willing to take the necessary step by revealing/disclosing/unleashing the doping dossier" to Athletics Kenya and the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Two drug-related punishments handed down in the United States last week provide precedent for Athletics Kenya to go beyond the scope of test results and potentially include Busienei’s allegations in determining the extent of Jeptoo’s punishment. In that scenario, Jeptoo might also be stripped of her 2013 Chicago and 2013 and 2014 Boston titles.

Mo Trafeh[12], who won eight U.S. road racing championships, was found in possession of EPO but claimed he’d not taken it; Trafeh never failed a drug test. But at an arbitration hearing, witnesses and documentation verified, according to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, that Trafeh had purchased, transported, and used EPO, and had submitted false information about his whereabouts in an effort to avoid testing. Trafeh, it was announced last week, has been suspended for four years[13] (though he says he has retired).

USADA CEO Travis Tygart said that the arbitrator’s decision in the Trafeh matter demonstrated the importance of investigations as “a critical component of the mission to ensure that those who defraud their competitors with the use of performance-enhancing drugs …. don’t get away with it.”